Family Ties

Today I soaked up a scene I have imprinted in my mind as I write. The scene is my 3 cousins and I all in the same room with kids, our parents and spouses all around us, yet everything seemed quiet accept for my cousins and I. It was like in the movies when the background noise gets quiet and blurry. These particular cousins are the family I spent most of my “kidhood” with. We were very close and even lived with each other throughout our lives. And even when we didn’t live with each other we would spend the weekends at each other’s houses. But now we are spread out separated by many states. One of my cousins is in the army and just returned from Haiti. As were were all in the same room again I began to reminisce of the past. Running through the sprinkler, riding bikes through mud muddles and of course falling off horses together. Sarah did most of the falling, but Dan was the one who lost he spleen, and Katie, well she just laughed no matter who was falling off. It’s funny, when you are kids being raised together you never think for a moment that it won’t always be that way. It is times like these that I do my best to cherish the moments. I am so grateful for my extended family. I cherish the memories made in the past, soak up the present, and look forward to the new memories yet to come. It’s times like these when I think about how many of us who live near our families don’t see each other or even get along. It times like these that all the little disagreements or silly things just don’t matter. All the stuff we take personally and let eat at our hearts and rob us from the precious moments we take for granted. Cause when comes down to it. The only thing that really matters is that my cousins know I love them and am so grateful they are all in my life, despite the miles between us.